A plan to set up wind turbines near the site of the D-Day landings that changed the course of World War Two has enraged many who say it desecrates the memory of the liberators.

A man dressed as a soldier for a re-enactment of the June 6 landing

The proposed wind park off the Normandy coast involves 75 windmills, each 100 metres (300ft) high, and will span the areas where British and Canadian forces landed in 1944.

The closest windmills will be about 10km (six miles) from shore.

The project, being led by state electricity provider EDF, is part of a strategy to use renewable energy to meet for almost a quarter of France's needs by around 2030.

Meetings are being held in both French and English across Normandy to discuss the issue.

Karel Scheerlinck, a who lives in the town of Arromanches-les-Bains, where the British soldiers landed, said: "These beaches belong to history. It's from here that the liberation of the world began.

"If you allow the comparison, I don't think the Germans would permit the construction of a wind park next to the ruins of a concentration camp. These are sacred areas."

US troops disembarking onto Utah Beach in 1944

Claude Brevan, the head of a commission organising the meetings, said the wind park would span an area from Arromanches-les-Bains to the nearby fishing port of Courselles, where Canadian soldiers fought their way ashore.

US landing sites would not be affected, she said.

Gisele Forknall, the widow of a World War Two soldier, said: "We owe it to these soldiers, to these veterans who were dog-tired but had the courage to land, to respect the freedom that they gave us.

Canadian troops land at Juno Beach

"Windmills are OK. But not here. There has been too much blood spilt."

William Jordan, a Briton who offers guided tours of the area, gave another reason.

"To imagine the events of June 6, 1944 - when thousands of Allied vessels arrived - one needs an empty horizon like a painter needs an empty canvas," he said.

But many others say they understand the decision.

Anne d'Ornano, a former local official after talking to Canadian veterans, said: "Veterans believe in the future. They have offshore wind farms in their countries. They are thinking about future generations.

"They just want their regiment's insignia to be there somewhere as a sign of homage."